Document and workflow management software has the power to change the way you do business for the better. That improvement means better service to your members and reliable technology that safely houses data to help with everyday needs for tribal members’ families, schools, and housing.
As a tribal leader, you may not know where to begin or how to approach these steps in a methodical way to ensure success. Here are some tips on getting started, all designed with the storing, organization, and retrieval of data right at your fingertips:
If you’re worried about having to buy all new hardware or servers onsite – don’t! Document management software easily works alongside most already-existing technology by storing in the cloud. According to Seagate, there was about 221 terabytes of data in cloud repositories in 2020, with an expected growth rate of 42.2% this year.
Plus, in the early stages with a reputable provider, they’ll conduct a discovery call where you’ll be able to discuss your current technology, including where gaps lie in your system and where document management can streamline your priority areas of concern and improve others over time as well.
Your member information is precious, so keep it under tight, 24/7 lock and key with cloud-based document management software. Designed to have permission-based access, your employees and members are all provided differing levels of access so no one can go snooping in a physical filing cabinet for a file they shouldn’t be seeing. There’s ample convenience during implementation where you can change and alter permissions when you need to as well.
The beauty of cloud software is you can access it anywhere there’s internet connection. This opens up convenience for members to make changes to their information remotely or send a message to the necessary person if any errors or roadblocks are encountered. Opening up that capability to work from anywhere will empower your staff, even if they’re traveling to a school, for instance, to be able to access key information and make real-time updates to the status of a foster member, for instance.
The beauty of document management software is how easy it is to scan, extract, and retrieve and send vital information with a few clicks. Depending on your file naming convention, you can type in the search bar and instantly locate members based on any desired contact fields, including location, school, age, or when opened last by someone else. It’s basically a localized search engine – only instead of the entire web, you’ve got access to all your data in one place. How’s that for convenient?
One of the major boons of this kind of workflow management software lies in the ability to create custom automation. After you figure out the desired route and people to notify, you can easily automate accounts in finance to ping when invoices are ready for approval. This flexibility releases anyone from forgetting to send a reminder or running into technical roadblocks or outages. Having automation bots to send reminders and generate monthly reports, for example, has huge value when you’re looking at ways to serve your members better. These insights will certainly help aid your productivity.
The ability to make real change and add value for tribal members is one of the benefits to document and workflow management software. Streamlining how processes are completed and freeing up staff to focus on human-centric tasks will give you an advantage and higher quality of service that will only continue to improve.
For more information on taking your tribal government’s technology to the next level, download our free ebook on “Getting Started With OneTribe™ Software.”